Robbers Kill Store Owner Near Brookdale Hospital

A quiet, respected merchant whose place of business was located only a block east of Brookdale Hospital was shot to death last week as two bandits tried to rob him in broad daylight, police said.

El-Hajj Kareem Shabazz, 55, who neighbors said was a "wonderful man," was alone in his store — The Whole Nine Yards, on Lott Avenue near East 98th Street — at about noon on Wednesday, August 27, when he was apparently confronted by the two men who demanded he give them the cash that was stored in a box near the counter, police conjectured. Although he complied, Shabazz was then shot by one of the thieves, according to reports issued during a police press conference.

A store employee who had stepped out just before the robbery, came back after the attackers departed and saw the victim collapse, according to an article in the Daily News. Cops said the store owner died at the scene as paramedics arrived. Police said they recovered just one shell casing from the floor of the video store.

Uniformed police guard the store while detectives work to gather as much evidence against perpetrators as they can. Bennett Silverman

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.